‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Character Guide For The Uninitiated

Are you new to Christian Grey’s kinky (or creepy) world? Read on, Anastasia, we’ll introduce you to everyone you need to know and who’s playing them on the big screen before you head off to The Playroom.

Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson): When we’re first introduced to the 21-year-old innocent college senior, she’s a clumsy nervous wreck and completely out of place in Grey’s corporate world. She’s a plain Jane student working part-time in a hardware shop, but Grey’s otherworldly allure intrigues her. At first, she’s eager to please and fall in love with her new suitor, but when Grey reveals his relationship come with certain rules, Ana wavers in her decision to follow through and exert some dominant agency of her own. She may be the audience's surrogate to fall into Christian Grey’s bubble of riches and sins, but is love enough to overlook Grey’s rougher shortcomings and stay?

Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan): A self-made communication technologies millionaire at the ripe old age of 27, Mr. Grey is not all that he seems. Intensely private, he hides his tastes for kink until he’s sure he can trust his partners. He harbors terrible mommy issues that manifest in his reluctance to get attached to his partners. But his Type-A personality has a darker side: one that’s borderline abusive, obsessed and controlling. Anastasia’s convinced that there’s a kinder shade to Grey, but it remains to be seen by the end of the first movie.

Kate Kavanagh (Eloise Mumford): This whole story is all her fault. Kate, an ace journalism student, originally was the one to have the very personal interview with Mr. Grey before fate and the flu had something to say. Her best friend and roommate Anastasia goes in her stead, and well, here we are.

Elliot Grey (Luke Grimes): Audiences meet Christian’s brother and Kate’s new beau after a night out at a bar. He’s a complete 180 of his sibling and acts much more like a bro in his 20’s. You know, relatively normal in comparison to his odd, yet brilliant sibling. However, the oft-repeated phrase “laters, baby” is all his fault.

Taylor (Max Martini): He is the stoic, loyal Alfred-like butler to Christian Grey’s Bruce Wayne. Although Taylor’s also a little on the Jarvis side of business too, with a morning responsibility to escort out the women their rich masters have invited over for the night.

José Rodriguez (Victor Rasuk): Poor guy has an unspoken crush on his classmate Ana, but she only sees him as a brother she never had. Unfortunately, the easily jealous Christian spots him as a potential rival early on. The sensitive photographer will just have to find satisfaction with his work for now.

Mrs. Robinson: A reference to the 1967 Mike Nichols hit starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, “The Graduate,” Mrs. Robinson makes an appearance in the “Fifty Shades” series as the older woman responsible for introducing a then 15-year-old Christian to the world of domination and submission. Yikes. We do not see her in the first movie.

The Playroom: The Red Room of Pain’s less innocuously named cousin, this is the nickname given to Grey’s sex dungeon. And no, there are no X-Boxes here.